Wireless Broadband Alliance releases L4S Wi-Fi guidelines

The Wireless Broadband Alliance (WBA) has released new guidelines for implementing Low Latency, Low Loss, Scalable (L4S) technology over Wi-Fi networks.

The guidelines aim to address the growing demand for low-latency Wi-Fi applications such as cloud gaming, augmented reality (AR), and virtual reality (VR). They include implementation approaches, Access Point (AP) tests, and simulation studies relevant to L4S Access Point performance in various scenarios.

The adoption of L4S applications is increasing, with technology and telecom companies already exploring the potential benefits. Notably, Apple has been guiding developers on app integration, while Nokia and Vodafone's trial over an end-to-end Passive Optical Network demonstrated significant latency reductions. Additionally, Comcast is rolling out L4S technology across its footprint.

L4S technology is set to impact Wi-Fi performance by reducing buffer-based latency and data loss while enabling scalable throughput. The Wireless Broadband Alliance outlines several business benefits of L4S, including supporting emerging applications, enhancing customer satisfaction, and unlocking new revenue streams in industries such as gaming, media streaming, and telemedicine.

Tiago Rodrigues, President and CEO of the Wireless Broadband Alliance, stated, "As L4S technology continues to evolve and gain traction, it will play a pivotal role in shaping the future of Wi-Fi networks, ensuring they meet the demands of modern, latency-sensitive applications. The L4S Implementation Guide will help vendors and enterprises to achieve maximum business impact from the technology and improve customer experiences for latency sensitive applications such as gaming and virtual reality."

The new guidelines describe how Wi-Fi equipment suppliers can incorporate support for L4S, as well as offering insights from simulation and field test results and optimization of Enhanced Distributed Channel Access parameters.

Greg White, Distinguished Technologist at CableLabs, commented, "As network operators shift from a mindset focused on speed alone as the key indicator of network quality, to one where user-experience and adaptability are front of mind, L4S will be a critical technology that will enable Wi-Fi networks to meet the needs and expectations of users, both for today's applications and for future applications that aren't possible today."

Metin Taskin, CEO and founder of Airties, remarked, "At Airties, our aim is to help improve the home connectivity experience for ISPs, including latency, to help increase customer satisfaction, reduce churn, and attract new customers. Speed alone is no longer a competitive advantage for broadband operators since many interactive applications rely as much on low latency as speed. ISPs need solutions like L4S, coupled with the right software management tools, to improve QoE, and we're very proud to work with WBA to help lead the way on this important industry initiative."

Lili Hervieu, Principal Architect at CableLabs, added, "L4S is a key technology for efficiently reducing buffer delays and supporting end-to-end low latency by enabling fine-grain coordination between the network and application sender. With a significant share of internet traffic relying on Wi-Fi, integrating L4S over Wi-Fi is essential. These guidelines offer key insights into L4S deployment over Wi-Fi supported by extensive field tests and simulations."

Dr. Necati Canpolat, Sr. Staff Wireless Architect at Intel and WBA Board Director, concluded, "Intel is proud to be leading this initiative at the WBA. Through our leadership roles at IEEE, WFA, and WBA, and with its product support, Intel has been at the forefront of addressing Wi-Fi latency issues. L4S offers additional mechanisms for improving end-to-end latency and connectivity experiences."